The
Kind of Faith that Works!
Job 19
DATE: 23 Mar, 2008 AM
PLACE: BBC Ballincollig
I.
Introduction (John
16:20)
A.
Most people have a “fatalist
faith”
1.
A faith that is just resigned
to whatever will be will be!
2.
A faith that only lasts until
the grave
3.
A faith that only looks good,
until it is tested and tried – then it crumbles and dies under the pressure
4.
As Jesus lead His disciples
into
B.
What Jesus was offering, was
not faith enough to keep you FROM trouble, but a faith that gets you THROUGH
trouble! Jesus said, that we can have Resurrection Faith
1.
A faith that believes in life
from the dead
2.
A faith that over-rides, and
overwhelms
3.
The disciples did not have
that kind of faith, even though Jesus tried to give it to them (Mark 8:31-33)
a.
Where their Messiah was taken
away by an angry mob from the
b.
They were furious that He did
not fight back
c.
And they were more furious
that THEY weren’t allowed to fight back
d.
And when they saw Jesus
whipped and beaten, and mocked by both Pilate and Herod, and then nailed to the
cross…
e.
Well, you understand… they
gave up!
f.
Their faith died with Jesus
that day on the cross
4.
Aren’t you glad, Jesus didn’t
stay dead?
5.
You see, our situations are
screaming, GOD IS DEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN
6.
But then, Jesus rose again,
and all of our defeats turn into rejoicing
C.
Listen to Job’s situation (Job
1,2)
1.
Minding his own business
2.
Worshipping God
3.
Praying for his children
4.
Loving his wife
5.
Leading his family and entire
household as a godly, morally upright, and clean-living believer
6.
And in 24 hours, absolutely
everything, I mean, absolutely everything is taken away from him, including all
TEN of his children!
D.
Listen to Job’s sorrow (Job
19:1-21) – be brief, don’t comment
1.
With his three friends sitting
around him like vultures, Job, sitting on the ashes of the city dump, begins to
express such incredible sorrow
2.
His friends have attacked him,
accusing him of sin and of deserving punishment for secret sins, and yet had
3.
Job knows that God has ruined
him (19:6)
4.
God won’t answer his prayers
(19:7)
5.
God has pinned him down like a
wrestler, and turned off the lights so to speak so that Job can’t tell which way
to go, or what to do next (19:8)
6.
God has stripped away
everything that Job once had
7.
Now remember, it was SATAN who
had done all this to Job, but Job knows that God allowed it, and therefore was
the one to deal with
8.
God has attacked Job and
conquered him like an invading army (19:12)
9.
His own family and friends
have turned away from him and disowned him (19:13,14,19)
10.
His fellow workers, his
employees all ignore him (19:15,16)
11.
His own wife dumps both him
and God (19:17)
12.
His health is ruined –
incurable disease (19:20)
13.
God has just touched his life
and left it is pieces (19:21)
E.
Listen to Job’s Plea
(19:21,22)
1.
Have pity upon me
2.
Stop attacking me
3.
Leave me be, and let me just
die
F.
NOW, listen to Job’s faith
(Job 19:25-27)!!! This is the key!
1.
Now you would think, a man in
a situation like this would not have ANY faith, yet he did – oh, it was
thread-bare, it was paper thin, it was hard to see, but it was there!
2.
Not a faith that can only fix
his life and make it all better only in this life
3.
But a faith that can raise his
dead body, and save his soul, and make him fit for eternity with God Almighty!
4.
Here is what kind of faith we
need this morning!
5.
It is the very faith and
confidence that the disciples finally had after they peered into the empty tomb
that early morning on the Lord’s Day, 2,000 years ago!
6.
Job’s proclamation of his
faith in God has never ceased to amaze me, coming as it did when he was enduring
difficulties worse than most of us will ever face.
a.
Here is a man who has lost his
sons and daughters.
b.
He has lost his all of his
wealth.
c.
His friends are giving him
useless advice.
d.
His wife is telling him to
curse God and die.
e.
He is sitting on a heap of
ashes and using a broken piece of pottery to scratch the sores that cover his
body.
f.
He sees no end to his
suffering
g.
And in this situation he can
still say “I know that my Redeemer lives!”
7.
We can all relate to Job, at
least to some degree. We may not have suffered to the extent that Job did but
each of us has experience hardship in one form or another. Some of us here today
are facing problems that seem to be overwhelming and that no-one else is aware
of. For many people undergoing trials the story of Job offers a certain amount
of comfort.
8.
It has been said, by way of
ridicule, that faith in God is a crutch.
a.
What is meant is that faith in
God is only good for those who are not able to stand on their own two feet.
b.
What is not understood is that
no person ever lived who had feet strong enough to stand on their own.
c.
Yes, faith is a crutch for
those who are weak.
d.
Just as a crutch is necessary
for someone with a broken leg so is faith necessary for someone with a broken
soul.
e.
In this sense Job was no
better than the rest of us. His soul was ruined just as all ours are. He needed
a crutch that would let him stand before God and that crutch was his
Redeemer.
f.
But just as a crutch does not
automatically heal the leg that needs it, so does faith not automatically heal
the problems – but it does help us through.
g.
There is no knowing how long
Job suffered but the narrative seems to imply some considerable period of time.
During this time his faith was firm but his problems remained. His faith in God
did not protect him from troubles, nor did it automatically make the problems
disappear. Even though Job suffered his faith in a Redeemer sustained him.
9.
Folks, when all hell
10.
You better have some solid
rock confidences that you KNOW, that you are certain about, that you stake your
sanity on!!!
G.
Here are the things you had
better KNOW before you head into tomorrow!
II.
Message
A.
Job Knew there is always a
Reason for What We Go Through, even though we don’t understand it
(19:23,24)
1.
Everything has a good purpose
– you had better learn to believe that!!!
a.
Job cried out for someone to
write out all the things he was going through because, he believed it was all
happening for a reason – DO YOU BELIEVE THAT? You should!
b.
It was not just random acts of
violence that he was experiencing
2.
Job could not see God, but he
knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God was there, carefully guiding Job
through his nightmare (Job 23:8-10)
3.
Job here, back in 19:23,24,
just
4.
Hey…
a.
Do we really ever fully
understand why things happen in our lives?
b.
If we don’t, does that mean
chaos rules?
c.
Or can we not with Job say
that there is a purpose, a design, and it is important enough for not only ME
but everyone to learn from?
5.
Job trusted God to have a
great purpose for what was happening in his life no matter how hard
6.
And that purpose was for all
of us to read about these events and grow to love that same God more!
B.
Job Knew that there is
a Redeemer (Job 19:25)
1.
What a word, “Redeemer!”
2.
He doesn’t just say, “I know
that my God liveth” – that is easy to say.
3.
No, he is talking about
something greater than just the God of the universe sitting on a throne
somewhere distant
4.
Job calls Him, his REDEEMER!
5.
What Redeemer means:
a.
Someone who would fight for
him, and defend him, and save him!
b.
Someone who will come and
defeat Job’s enemies, no matter who they are, and no matter how powerful they
may be – Job’s Redeemer would come and fight for him!
c.
It means someone who steps in
a makes-up for our debts, our failures, our frailties
d.
It is someone who buys back
someone who has been sold into slavery, or gotten into debt – believe me, Job
feels like life has robbed him blind here!
e.
It is someone who pays a
ransom for a prisoner in order to liberate, or rescue them from captivity or
bondage (Ps 25:22)
f.
This Redeemer rescues and
delivers indebted sinners from the bondage of sin and the penalties of God's
violated law (Gal 3:13)
g.
A Redeemer is someone who
steps into your place, and takes the punishment that YOU deserve so that you
could go free!
6.
Job KNEW this Redeemer – He
was HIS!
7.
Jesus is THE Redeemer (Eph
1:3,7)
8.
Did you
know that Jesus is the only piece of property which is really ours?
a.
We borrow
all else, a house, our children, even our very bodies we must one day return to
the Great Lender.
b.
But
Jesus, we can never leave, for even when we are absent from the body we are from
that moment on, present with the Lord, and even death cannot separate us from
Him, so that body and soul are with Jesus truly even in the dark hours of death,
and for all eternity thereafter!
9.
It may be
that you hold him with a feeble hand, yet remember, if you have but faith as a
grain of mustard seed, that little faith in Jesus as your Redeemer entitles you
to say, and say now, "I know that MY Redeemer liveth."
10.
Do YOU
have a Redeemer? (1Peter 1:18,19) one who fights for you, and purchased you back
from the devil and from death?
a.
Most
everyone trusts in a “redeemer” called gold, or silver, or doctors, or
scientists, or friends, or family.
b.
I have a
Redeemer, and I know Him, and best of all, He knows me!!!
c.
His name
is Jesus!
C.
Job Knew that his Redeemer
Lives (Job 19:25)!
1.
This just gets better!
2.
Job’s faith was in Someone
that was very much alive!
3.
To Job, Jesus is NOT a
religion, or a statue, or even and ideal (Ps 115:4-8)
4.
Even way back then, almost
2,000 years before the birth of Jesus, Job KNEW that Jesus is very much
5.
Christianity is all about the
news that Jesus lives (Rev 1:18)
a.
Job did not believe that his
Redeemer SHALL live, but His Redeemer was very much alive in Job’s day!
b.
To say,
"I hope so, I trust so," that Jesus lives, is as far as most people get. But to
reach the place of transformation from darkness to light, from death unto life,
you must be able to say, "I KNOW."
c.
Christians are witnesses to this world of Christ’s RESURRECTION (Acts 4:33) of
the FACT that Jesus is alive, even though He was dead
d.
We upset
the religionists who only want to hold to creeds and rituals and dead works
(Acts 4:1,2) – but we cling to a living ruling Saviour!
e.
The core
of our whole belief system is the fact that Jesus Christ was crucified, yes, but
more powerfully, He rose up from the dead (Acts 23:6; 1Cor 15:13-20)
f.
Oh how
the belief in the resurrection encourages the Christian (Rom 6:5,9; 2Cor 13:4) –
oh, it encourages me!
g.
And it is
the power of that resurrection that we all lean on, or at least we should (Philp
3:10)
6.
How well
do you believe that Jesus lives and hears your prayers, and stands at your
defence, and rules in the situations of your life?
7.
Jesus is
not a picture – don’t have pictures of Jesus! Jesus is not a statue – don’t have
religious figures! Jesus is not a symbol – He is alive forever more, and he
wants you to walk with Him, and talk with Him, and know Him intimately, and
personally for ever!
D.
Job Knew that his Redeemer
Wins (Job 19:25; Romans 8:28)
1.
Job’s faith was a future faith
– a faith that didn’t only see the here and now, but the glory of a future with
Christ alive and in control!
2.
Here Job
is by the eye of faith, able to see way out into the future, and see Jesus,
standing upon the earth, in perfect triumph over all enemies!
a.
He has
triumphed over sin
b.
He has
defeated Satan - He won over the devil (Heb 2:14)
c.
And Jesus has won over death
itself!
3.
2Tim 1:12 “for I know whom
I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have
committed unto him against that day.”
4.
5.
Your enemies may hurt you, and
even kill you, but they cannot win over you! All because your Redeemer wins in
the end!
6.
Aren’t you glad to be on a
winning team???
7.
Aren’t you glad you could skip
ahead and read the last chapter in your Bible and see, that WE WIN!!!?
E.
Job Knew that he would Be
With Him (Job 19:26,27)
1.
Here is the best part!
2.
Job’s faith was a saving faith
(1John 5:11-13)
3.
It is one thing to back the
winning team – it is another thing to actually get to be with the Winner!
4.
Job didn’t just see the
future, he saw himself as part of the future!
5.
His reins were his bowels, his
guts - and even though they may rot, Job knows that he shall one day stand along
side his Redeemer and live with Him!
6.
No reincarnation here - We get
a whole new body, and live forever WITH Jesus (John 14:1-3)
7.
But it is only given to those
who get saved, born again, now (2Cor 6:2)
8.
You can’t wait until a future
day – then it will be too late!
III.
Conclusion
A.
Most people have a “fatalist
faith” - a faith that only lasts until the grave
B.
What Jesus offers us, is not
faith enough to keep us FROM trouble, but a faith that gets us THROUGH trouble!
Jesus offers everyone, Resurrection Faith
C.
Job had such sorrow, and
should have given up, but he had something that not only did he hold onto, but
that HELD ONTO HIM!
D.
Will you finally admit that
YOU desperately need a crutch for you to stand on throughout the storms and
trials of life? I admit it!
1.
Folks, when all hell
2.
You better have some solid
rock confidences that you KNOW, that you are certain about, that you stake your
sanity on!!!
E.
Here are the things you had
better KNOW before you head into tomorrow!
1.
That
there is always a Reason for What We Go Through, even though we don’t
understand it
2.
That there is a
Redeemer – make sure He is YOURS! Make Him yours!!!
3.
That our Redeemer Lives
4.
That our Redeemer Wins –
read your Bible! Satan is a liar, AND Satan is a LOSER!!!
5.
That you will be WITH Him
(John 14:3) forever! That’s better than going to
hell! That will make up for all the pain and sorrow and tears of this life,
don’t you think?
F.
How all this helps…
1.
It says to the devil, “Give me
your best shot!” he is going to anyway! Just with Resurrection faith, you are
ready!
2.
It says to God, Though you
slay me, yet will I trust in you!
3.
It says to the world, “You
ain’t seen nothing yet!” I’ve got something that lasts now forever!
4.
It helps you say to Jesus, I
am sorry I doubt you at times. You are my Redeemer, my Victor, my Saviour, my
Friend! And I love you!
Craig Ledbetter | Pastor |